Changes to Course Registration, Drop and Withdrawal

As part of University of Maryland University College's commitment to your success, we have implemented new policies regarding course registration, dropping a course and withdrawing from a course.

Changes to Course Registration Dates

Our research shows a strong connection between early registration and student success. To ensure you have enough time to prepare for class, we are changing the last day to register for online classes.

Online Courses: Students must register at least five days prior to the start of the online course. Example: An online session starts on Monday, May 13, 2013. A student can register up until Wednesday, May 8, at 11:59 p.m.

The relationship between registration date and student success for on-site and hybrid courses is less definitive. Because of this, registration deadlines for classes offered in these formats have not been changed.

Hybrid Courses* (defined as having both online and on-site components): Students must register one day prior to the calendar start date. Example: A hybrid session runs from Monday, May 13, through Sunday, July 7, 2013. A student can register up until Sunday, May 12, at 11:59 p.m.

On-Site Courses*: Students must register prior to the start of the first class meeting.

* All on-site graduate courses are considered to have an online component, regardless of whether they are designated as hybrid. Therefore, all on-site graduate courses follow the deadlines for hybrid courses.

Changes to Course Drop and Withdrawal Policy

In addition, we have updated our Course Drop and Withdrawal Policy. This new policy provides you with a longer time frame to drop a course with full refund of tuition and non-application fees without the course appearing on your transcript. The time allowed for dropping a course depends on the length of the session. After this drop period, the refund schedule for drop and withdrawal will be followed.

Drop Versus Withdrawal

Drop: An academic drop occurs when you remove yourself from a course before the course begins or during UMUC’s drop period. You can review deadlines for dropping a course on the Academic Calendar. There are no academic consequences from this action, but there may be financial aid repercussions for dropping a course if you no longer meet the qualifications for aid. The course will not be posted on unofficial or official transcripts and does not count as attempted credit.

Withdrawal: An academic withdrawal from a course occurs when you remove yourself from a course after the drop period has passed. There will be financial repercussions for this withdrawal based on the refund schedule for drop and withdrawal. The academic consequences from this action include receiving the grade of "W" for the course, which will appear on unofficial and official transcripts. A grade of "W" will not impact your GPA and does not count as completed credit toward your degree. There may be financial aid repercussions for withdrawing from a course if you no longer meet the qualifications for aid.